I'm a Goan woman, working in Mumbai as the founder of a studio called Totem Creative. I try to make the world happier, safer and more meaningful. I believe education, knowledge and awareness, art, writing and creating Social Impact are my means to achieve that end.

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Khamba has arrived!

24th April 2016

Finally the khamba (composter) arrived! I was really anticipating this guy! It's only been 3 days and I feel like a girl feeding her pet dragon. I even instructed by super co-operative roommates and my maid what we can feed it and how smaller bits should be made of all wet waste. I really hope I'm doing it right and I get good quality fertilizer by the end of this.

Khamba inside out

May I also say that thanks to the Remix powder I bought with this, it's not smelling at all as of now. I'm also mixing it up with some dry leaves or newspaper to absorb excess moisture and avoid fruit flies.

I've successfully managed to live a week without buying some things I consume almost daily for snacks - chips, biscuits etc. Although, this is not a happy solution. I need to carry a container to buy my week's supply of junk food. :P Right now I'm eating freshly cooked food in newspapers - samosas, chaat etc. and visit shops which have their own plates/cups. I'm still looking for an inexpensive carry cup with a silicon lid like this one. That way I can happily consume buttermilk and coffees in fancy cafés that serve in Styrofoam cups. Arvind also bought a steel container that we can buy loose good quality milk. It's almost double the cost of the packet milk, but it's worth it, since it gives a lot of cream. We're making other milk products like ghee, curd and buttermilk from it; hence cutting down their packaging as well and eating more organic food.

I read about Organic Mandya in the news a few days back. It's amazing organization which sells organic farmer's produce directly to customers, and also helps them have a more sustainable living by sending over volunteers and educating them on better farming techniques. It was such good news to read about this! I went through their website and noticed they also package in plastic. I was a bit disappointed, but realized they must have a good reason - maybe they need to be cost effect, maybe the food has to last through transportation and moisture issues. Whatever it was, I decided to contact them and ask if they were open to more sustainable packaging.

They called me the next day itself! I was shocked and really impressed with their quick response - they were infact looking for greener packaging for their products, like jute or cloth. I called some of my product design friends who'd worked on packaging in college. They suggested recycled handmade paper, jute or cloth. Arvind's sister makes recycled paper products, so I've put them through to her. I hope something good comes out of this as well! I was so grateful and surprised to see how much they care about their carbon footprint.